Note the lack of the "-ing" in the title. We're not talking about journaling. We're talking about journals—books that contain only words, also known as diaries. Very few pictures are involved, if any, and there are absolutely no dimensional accents. There, are we on the same page?
Tip 1
Forget about chronology.
At Simple Scrapbooks magazine, we harped on this point all the time. But there's really nothing wrong with chronological scrapbooking, or chronological journal keeping, as long as it works for you. The underlying point is this: don't impose any artificial rules upon yourself if they keep you from recording your memories. Don't put any barriers in your way.
I used to be stuck in this odd chronological mindset with my journals. I'd have a flash of inspiration and grab my journal to write about it, then I'd notice that I was about 9 months behind. I certainly couldn't write about what's happening now until I recorded my brother's wedding, my trip to Chicago, my new job, and the arrival of Ruby the wonder dog, could I? Chronology was an unspoken rule that I never questioned. So, unless I felt like writing a marathon catch-up entry, I'd sigh and put the journal away. Occasionally, I'd just skip a handful of pages and follow my in-the-moment inspiration, but I'd never leave quite enough space for the catch-up entries. (There is an obvious solution if this sounds familiar to you. Don't buy bound journals. Instead, use a binder that allows you to easily remove and reorganize your pages.)
Clearly, my journal-writing approach was not effective for me. My solution? I decided to allow myself more than one journal at a time (see tip 2). Who says you have to finish one before you can start writing in another? No one, but I was following that artificial rule all the same. It seems I am a very obedient soul.
To recap, if sticking to chronology is keeping you from following those flashes of inspiration, kick chronology to the curb! Don't waste a sudden urge to actually write something, because the motivation never lasts long.
Tip 2
Keep several types of journals.
First of all, I'm not sure why journals are something you "keep." I didn't make up the expression, but I am blindly using it. (Baaaa!) Despite what you might suspect after reading tip 1, I do still keep a series of chronological journals. These journals are PRESSURE-FREE. They contain the broad trajectory of my life, and I only pull the most recent one out when I feel inspired to add a new piece my story. I do not force myself to write on a schedule, because I don't like schedules. When I feel inspired, I write about major life events. Big insights. Exciting news. Spiritual experiences and impressions that I want to remember. My personal reactions to significant national and world news. Ongoing struggles and how I'm dealing with them. Snippets of experiences and slice of life entries. A few "top ten favorites" lists, just for fun. The three books you see here cover August 1998 to the present. See? This does not have to be overwhelming. Ten years in three books. Obviously, months go by between some entries. (Bonus tip: Do not start every entry with, "I can't believe how long it's been since I wrote last!" because it gets really repetitive really fast. Really.)
Here are a couple of sample entries:
January 18, 2000
After my grandpa Hill's funeral. "I have never experienced real grief before. But now, I know what people mean when they talk of grief ripping a hole in their heart. The day I heard the news, I sat on the bed in grandpa's spare room and looked at his coveralls hanging on the back of the door, and I tried to feel his presence in the house. I heard my aunts in the other room comparing memories, deciding what to include in his life sketch. I kept thinking about how he would always grab your face with both hands when kissing you hello or goodbye. Such a loving touch—like a hug and a kiss all in one."
February 20, 2004
The night before my wedding. "It's 10:30 and I'm going to bed. Mom
prepared breakfast casserole and put it in the fridge. Matt and Suzanne
are sleeping at Jon and Becky's, who live a block away. Michele and
Mike are sleeping in the living room; Grandma and Grandpa are in my
room. I'm cuddled with Sueki [the dog] under three of the
quilts mom and dad received for their wedding, in our black day bed, in
the basement room without a door that was my bedroom when I first moved
home after college. Alli is sleeping next door, and the noise in the
house is fading out as we retire for the night, one by one. I have a
feeling I'll sleep well. I love going to sleep the night before a
long-awaited event. To use the common cliche, I truly feel like a child
on Christmas Eve—multiplied by ten."
Besides these chrono books, I have ongoing computer files that are organized by thematic topics (which I'll cover later), writer's notebooks where I write down funny things my family says, a blog, a very useful "venting" notebook, and other theme journals. And of course, I have my scrapbooks. I definitely count those as a part of my life record as well.
Tip 3
Incorporate journal entries onto scrapbook pages.
If you're like me, you probably revisit your old scrapbook pages far more often than you reread old journal entries. Why? Maybe because photos are so evocative. Or because the emotional outbursts that show up in our journals are far more embarrassing than anything we include on scrapbook pages, which we design deliberately for other people's eyes.
So why not pull your best gems from your journals and let them shine on scrapbook layouts? Not only is this a way to give your masterpiece entries a moment in the spotlight, but it's also a great shortcut. Chances are that you'll be covering some of the same topics in your scrapbooks and in your journals. And just imagine: instant journaling for your next layout!
Here's my travel journal from my post-college tour of Europe, followed by a couple of layouts from my massive Europe scrapbook. (Warning: brace yourself for a blast from the scrapbooking past. This is what pages looked like in 1998. At least mine did.)
And believe it or not, I still have lots more to say on the whole journal-keeping topic. But this is certainly enough for now.
Finis.
